A majority of door locks and ignition system locks involve inserting a key into a keyhole and turning the key. Keys are well known in the security industry and are normally flat-bodied and elongated devices, with the length being longer than the width. The shank of the key is the longer portion and contains cut-out portions normal to and along the shank, the cut-out portions and grooves on the shank contacting various pins and tumblers of the core of a cylinder lock, with the result that rotating the inserted key rotates the lock core to its desired location. The head of the key is an extension of the shank and is an enlarged portion of same, such that a person using the key can manually hold the key head and/or flanges of the lock cylinder, insert the shank into the keyhole, and exert torque on the head, thus completing the operation of unlocking a door or actuating an ignition switch.
A variety of physical ailments can reduce the ability of a key user to exert sufficient torque on the key in order to rotate the lock cylinder, such as carpel-tunnel syndrome, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, amputees, arthritis, or casts, and etc.
Certain locks, such as in some automobiles, have flanges or tabs on opposite sides of the cylinder lock keyhole to assist the user in turning the cylinder lock and/or prevent breaking the key. This assistance may not be sufficient for an infirm or disabled user to complete the desired rotation of the lock.
Accordingly, a need exists for a key leverage extender that has not been met by the prior art and that is provided by the present invention. More specifically what is needed and what has been invented by me is an apparatus and method for assisting the disabled in starting a vehicle and which is not taught or suggested by the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 2,083,161 to Gilpin; U.S. Pat. No. 2,135,759 to Mabee; U.S. Pat. No. 2,169,796 to Gilpin; U.S. Pat. No. 2,229,525 to Sandberg; U.S. Pat. No. 2,635,328 to Larmour; U.S. Pat. No. 3,786,659 to Elder; U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,383 to Bosco; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,983 to Tayler.